Deland
The Deland store is located near Stetson University on Highway 17/92. Opened in 1983, it was our third store. Manager Kip Jolly has the responsibility of running both the Deland and Daytona stores, and has been in the paint supply business since 1998.
In a similar vein, Craig Ballew serves as the outside salesperson for Deland and a portion of the Daytona market. He's been out there since 1982. When industrial expertise is required, Dave Simons (not pictured below) is called in to meet our customers' needs.
Kip has a support team of 2 counterpersons and 1 driver, but they all do a little of everything, paint mixing included. Give them a call; they will be glad to help.
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Paint lines mixed |
 Kip Jolly kjolly@bensps.com 386-871-7627 |
Kip serves as manager for both the Daytona and Deland stores. He is the husband of Melissa Jolly, controller and accounts payable manager. Born and raised in Hartwell, GA, he received a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Southern College of Technology in 1985. He started with us in 1998 as an inside sales associate in Deland and transferred to Daytona in 1999. He became Daytona manager in 2001 and added Deland in 2009. In addition to that responsibility, Kip has undertaken many special corporate tasks as well; he is our resident computer and communications tech and has become a key personality in the success of Ben's. In 2003 he received the Ben's Award for Leadership. In his spare time he likes to play golf. Kip and Melissa enjoy the blessings of two sons, Ethan and Seth. |
 Craig Ballew cballew@bensps.com 386-871-7299 |
Craig was born, raised and educated in Daytona Beach. He holds an AS degree in Marketing from Warner Christian Academy. He serves us as an outside salesperson for both the Daytona and Deland markets. Craig has been around awhile and knows the ropes, having joined the Ben's team in 1982 as a distribution specialist, left for a year and came back working both delivery and counter sales. He moved up to outside sales in the early 1990's. In 2003, Craig received the Ben's award for Sales Excellence. He enjoys the family atmosphere at Ben's and works hard at keeping his customers happy. In his free time he likes to fish, ride his ATV and work on home projects. Craig is married and has one son, one dog and one cat....one wife too. |
 Carey Somerville |
Carey joined the Ben's team in Sept. 1994, shortly after having graduated from the local community college. Her dad was a client of our Deland location and since she was jobless at the time, he urged then manager Charlie Parker to give her a try. So she began her career as a distribution specialist and a few years later moved to counter sales. She is also part of a small but unique "club" of married folks at Ben's, having met her husband there in 2000. In 2006, Carey left the Deland store to take about a year off to have her son, Drake. In 2007 she rejoined the Ben's team but at our Longwood location, again as a distribution specialist. Then in April 2010 she returned to the team in Deland. Carey enjoys working with the team members and customers that she meets while taking deliveries. In her free time, she enjoys shopping, tennis, Bike Week, and just sitting down with a bag of popcorn and a funny movie. Most importantly, she enjoys the time she gets to spend with Drake. |
 Mike Culhane mculhane@bensps.com |
Mike serves us as an inside sales associate, manning the telephones and the counter. He has been with us since 2007. Originally from New Jersey, he moved to Florida to get out of the snow and into the sunshine. He likes the people he works with and the family atmosphere of Ben's. In his free time he enjoys biking, photography and travel. |
 Melody Gast |
It's not often that we are able to hire a person to become a distribution specialist who actually has prior experience in the same town. Melody joined us in Feb. 2008 with 20 years of experience in automotive-related deliveries. She likes the people she works with and especially enjoys the customers, some of whom she knew from former delivery jobs and now with Ben's she has met some new ones. Although she is originally from Ohio, she has lived in Florida much longer. She has one daughter, a grandaughter and 2 stepsons. Melody also stays very busy in her personal life as a breeder of black and white Paint horses. She lives on a farm with 20 horses, 20+ cats, 3 dogs, 6 chickens and a goat!! Now that she works for a paint store, maybe she can get more colorful horses! |